After getting into Latin i've decided I would also like to get into ancient Greek. After reading around ive decided with Homeric Greek as a starter. However like with Latin, I really want to get my pronunciation sorted before really getting into it. Even though I have Pharrs Homeric Greek and he spells out the pronunciation, id prefer an audio site with the real basics..such as how each letter is pronounced and also the 'names' of each letter. For example in english a 'W' is called 'double you'.

Ive found a site on Latin which was amazing. Heres the link to show you what i'm talking about...

It lists the 'names' of each letter, as well as the pronunciation of each letter and how they change in certain words..again with all audio examples. I also know pronunciation in ancient greek is not entirely straight forward..with different dialects, and debates etc..but any sites or information on where I could hear these basics concepts would be appreciated.

I don't think there is a website with pronunciations for each letter like that (?), but there are some recordings available of Homeric recitation. The only link I have right now is a great document by William Annis (a Textkit moderator) on his website:

Thanks for the links... that link with Stephen Daitz is interesting as he says each letter. He pronounces it how I would. Seems very 'english'.

Is this how everyone else pronounces them...Ive actually heard them pronounced radically different to this on some 'ancient greek' sites. This is how I pronounce them, but would like to know how the ancient greeks would of pronounced them. I'm assuming not like this?

You are using the erasmian pronounciation, or something close to it. The people on this website tend to follow the pronounciation described in Allen's Vox Graeca (a book), though not everybody. I believe that Vox Graeca is the main basis for the pronounciation on the Aoidoi site (correct me if I'm wrong).

GlottalGreekGeek wrote: I believe that Vox Graeca is the main basis for the pronounciation on the Aoidoi site (correct me if I'm wrong).

That is correct.

Even though I use the reconstructed pronunciation, when I recite the Greek alphabet, I'm stuck with Erasmian. The Greek alphabet is used for a lot of things, and if I go around pronouncing the name of Î correctly, there is much tittering, though not as much when bonsai-ists here me pronounce Pinus sylvatica in reconstructed Latin.

I see...this would be much easier if I could cut and paste Annis's knowledge into my brain *sigh*.

From what ive read.."Vox Graeca uses Attic pronunciation? Since I'm going to start with Pharrs Homeric Greek... just curious if they use the same pronunciation..or is there any differences between the pronunciation of Homeric and Attic?

Is Vox Graeca considered the most 'accurate'..as in, the way it is considered the Ancient greeks would have spoken? Im assuming there isnt a download of Vox Graeca on the net as ive looked through the download pages on textkit to no avail?

Sesquipedalian wrote:From what ive read.."Vox Graeca uses Attic pronunciation? Since I'm going to start with Pharrs Homeric Greek... just curious if they use the same pronunciation..or is there any differences between the pronunciation of Homeric and Attic?

There were differences, but those would have been fairly minor, relating to a few vowel sounds, Ï…, Î¿Ï…, ÎµÎ¹.

Is Vox Graeca considered the most 'accurate'..as in, the way it is considered the Ancient greeks would have spoken?

It's a good account, and will mention the disputes. Anyone who decides to use the reconstructed pronunciation still has to make some (educated) choices.

Im assuming there isnt a download of Vox Graeca on the net as ive looked through the download pages on textkit to no avail?

Bardo de Saldo wrote:Why is "pie" for pi and "baytah" for beta called Erasmian? I don't see how a Dutchman who wrote in Latin would have used English long vowels (diphthongs) to pronounce his Greek vowels.

Though his name is attached to that pronunciation, he himself didn't invent it. He wrong a long paper on the subject in the 1500s. Work trying to recover the ancient pronunciation started in the 1400s, and that effort was popular in England.

Then came the Great Vowel Shift. The reconstruction of ancient Greek pronunciation was dragged along.

Is there a reconstructured pronounciation of the Ancient Greek alphabet? (The names not the actual sounds of each).. Attic or Homeric? Or does everyone just use the erasmian pronunciation? I think GlottalGreekGeek mentioned there is a proper pronunciation in Vox Graeca of the names of each letter? Just curious if this information on the names of the alphabet is on a website somewhere.